Rock Snot

Maryland will become the first state to ban the felt-soled fishing boots that an invasive algae uses to travel from stream to stream. But the ban will have consumers scrambling to replace gear and retailers left with boots they can no longer sell.

As an algae with a gross nickname invades pristine trout streams across the U.S., Maryland is about to become the first state to enforce a ban on a type of footgear the organism uses to hitchhike from stream to stream: felt-soled fishing boots.